


Laid To Rest

by sonicsora



Category: Brütal Legend
Genre: Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Male-Female Friendship, dying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 11:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18342530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonicsora/pseuds/sonicsora
Summary: Ophelia has lost, she's lost against Ironheade, her people have abandoned her in her time of need. Yet.Yet, a face from her past comes to comfort her as she dies. A Roadie who she considered a friend steps forward to make sure she isn't alone when she dies.





	Laid To Rest

**Author's Note:**

> Just something sad for ya'll to suffer through.

She twists around attempting to sit up but feeling too boneless to achieve it, coughing violently into her hands after trying to force the issue. Ophelia wraps her arms around herself after a moment. Her head is swimming and she tastes blood building in the back of her throat. Every cough leaves her throat thick and tasting coppery. 

Ironheade has crashed down on her stage, leaving wreckage in its wake. Her people have abandoned her after she fell from the sky. All the Drowned woman can so is curl into herself. The realization she's lost only makes everything so much worse in a way that leaves her tired instead of angry. 

She squeezes her eyes closed tightly as she tries to suck in a slow breath. Her heartbeat slows, the panic of earlier dropping off as her world gets more sluggish. 

Ophelia opens her eyes to gaze out at the distant burning husk that was her stage before dropping back to the ground before her. Her hand drifts across her belly uncertainly, coming back red. Eddie’s last blow left her more injured than she had originally thought. She attempts to push herself up, only to cry out in pain, crumpling back into the dirt. 

She coughs again, beginning to tremble as a chill slowly begins to settle over her. She’s too tired to even move at this point. Every attempt just makes her body hurt so much worse. 

The sound of footfalls approaching leaves her wincing. She expects Eddie’s cocky self to appear, to gloat, to mock her over her own demise. She can already hear the victory party unfolding for Ironheade. They must be pleased with themselves. 

Instead, a Roadie comes into view, crouching down on her level. His amp is abandoned off to the side, leaving him so visible in the distance it strikes her as odd. 

It takes her a moment to recognize the man. The tired lines around his eyes, the freckles on his face and dark eyes make it all come together after a moment. Caleb. 

“Hey now, s’just me.” He offers a hand out. “C’mon, Ophs. Don’t freak out on me.” 

“Caleb.” She exhales, wondering if she had cut down the other roadies she knew. Men who believed in her once, but left her behind on Eddie’s word. “…I- You shouldn’t be here.” 

“Sounds like something I told you before.” His expression is very tired, but fond and it makes Ophelia want to just curl into a tighter ball. “Then you proved me wrong anyway.” 

“I always liked proving people wrong when I know I can fix something.” She mused slowly, a tentative hand reaching out to his. He holds her hand gently without question. “Why are you here?”

“I saw you fall out of the sky back there. When you didn’t come back, your people kinda fled.” He squeezes her hand. “I was worried.” 

She gives a wet kind of laugh. “I’m your enemy, Caleb. You shouldn’t worry about me.” 

“Well, I ain’t the smartest man round, kid.” He shrugs somewhat, offering her a thin-lipped smile. “You gotta know that by now.” He strokes her fingers with his, the wordless gesture making Ophelia slowly relax. Even now she finds it hard to think of Caleb as someone who would hurt her. Not after watching him step up and help the women escape, not after he helped bandages her up after fights with Lionwhyte’s guards, not after he told her ‘I believe in you’ and meant it. 

“You were the first Roadie to leave Lionwhyte, so, you’re smarter than a lot of them.” 

“Not smart enough to believe you.” He states gently back, “I should have.”

“You should have.” She agrees firmly, eyelids growing heavy. The urge to just fall asleep is strong enough Ophelia is considering it strongly now. “I trusted you.”

“Will you trust me a lil longer?” He squeezes her hand, making the drowned woman startle slightly. “C’mon, Ophs, stick with me.” 

“Why should I?” She bites out, “Why should I trust any of you? You never stood up to Eddie, you never believed me over him.”

“You’re dying, let me at least help you.” 

“Let me die in peace.” She bites out, anger burning out so quickly that Ophelia is left disoriented on what to feel. “Let me die in agony.” 

“Hell no.” He gently reaches out to heft her up, holding her against his chest. All Ophelia can do is squirms weakly, wanting to push away but feeling so boneless everything feels disconnected from her. “I can’t just leave you again.” 

Ophelia just swats at him. “I hate you.” 

“You should.” He agrees sounding so weary. “You really should.” She swats at him again to try and make Caleb put her down, but the man seems determined to carry her. 

She loses focus long enough she realizes they’re far afield from the battlefield, the quietness is strange almost comforting. The trees cluster tightly around them, blotting out the grey skies. Caleb has settled her down on flowers and soft animal skins. 

“I tried talking Kill Master into healing you, It didn’t pan out.” Caleb sounds guilty enough over it it makes Ophelia want to laugh. The roadie settles down next to her now. 

Ophelia exhales, “Somehow, I’m not surprised.” She plucks a flower idly, beginning to pull petals from it. It takes a few tries on some petals, her hands shaking more than she’d like. “They’ll throw you out for this.” 

“I don’t give a damn anymore.” He says with an angry shake of his head. “I- just let me sit with you.” 

She throws petals at him, missing almost entirely. She wants to just scream at him. She wants Caleb to run away and let her die alone. Like everyone else wanted her to, like everyone thinks she deserves. 

Instead, she takes his hand and holds it until her grip goes lax and her eyes feel too heavy to keep open any longer. She feels his hand smoothing her hair out of her eyes, then, she feels nothing. That much in itself is more of a relief than anything else, to finally feel nothing.


End file.
